KANSAS CITY – The Kansas City Royals called up top
prospect and former University of New Orleans baseball player Johnny Giavotella
from Triple-A Omaha late Thursday night.

When Giavotella makes his debut this weekend against
Detroit, he will become the 11th former Privateer baseball player to
play at the Major League level. Thomas
Diamond was the most recent UNO player to get time at the highest level of
baseball when he pitched for the Chicago Cubs last year.

"This is a special day for the Giavotella and UNO
baseball family," said Privateer head coach Bruce Peddie, who was an assistant
for two years during Giavotella's tenure on the Lakefront. "He is a once in a
lifetime player who has succeeded throughout his career with his work ethic and
drive to be a big leaguer."

The Royals were expected to make a personnel move related
to Giavotella over the next few weeks in order to protect him from the Rule V
draft during the off-season. In addition, Local and national media had been
pushing for a call-up for Giavotella over the last month.

Instead of waiting for rosters to expand to 40 at the
beginning of September, the former Jesuit star will instead head straight to
the MLB level where he will join rising professional stars Eric Hosmer and Mike
Moustakas to form the Royals' infield.

Prior to his call-up, Giavotella was leading Triple-A
Omaha with a .339 batting average in addition to being second on the team in
RBIs with 72. Giavotella – named the
Pacific Coast League Player of the Month in June – also had nine home runs and
33 doubles to his name for the Storm Chasers.

Earlier this summer, Giavotella was voted a starter for
the PCL team in the Triple-A All-Star Game. A year prior, he competed in the
Texas League All-Star Game while a member of Double-A Northwest Arkansas.

"I expect to go up there and start
at second base," Giavotella told the Kansas City Star. "It's what I've always
done and I don't expect anything to change."

Giavotella
was a first-team preseason All-American selection of his junior season in 2008
at UNO.

Giavotella
hit .354 to help the Privateers claim a berth in the 2008 NCAA tournament, the
team's second straight berth. A few weeks following the NCAA tournament, he was
drafted in the second round with the 49th overall selection by the
Kansas City Royals.

Giavotella hit
.385 with 15 home runs and 65 RBIs to earn selection as a third-team
All-American at the conclusion of his sophomore season. His combined totals
over three years on the Lakefront featured a .363 batting average and 32 home
runs.

The Royals
will play three games at home against the Tigers before playing the Tampa Bay Rays
and the Chicago White Sox in consecutive series on the road.